Reported by James Sutherland.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE FINALS
- American Record: Dara Torres, 24.07, 2009
- U.S. Open Record: Cate Campbell, 24.13, 2008
- LC National Meet Record: Dara Torres, 24.25, 2016
- FINA ‘A’ Standard: 25.18
- Simone Manuel, STAN, 24.27
- Abbey Weitzeil, CAL, 24.74
- Lia Neal, STAN, 24.77
Simone Manuel executed a great 50 free tonight, winning by nearly half a second in 24.27 to move into #3 in the world. She adds a second individual event to her World Championship schedule after qualifying in the 100 on the first day.
In the tight battle for second, Abbey Weitzeil pulled through and got to the wall to get herself on the World Championship team. After a poor showing in the 100 by her standards, she came in at 24.74 to edge by Lia Neal(24.77), Kelsi Worrell (24.79) and Olivia Smoliga (24.84).
Seven of the eight finalists actually got under 25 seconds, with Mallory Comerford (24.93) and Madison Kennedy(24.95) doing it as well in 6th and 7th. Finishing 8th, Grace Ariola (25.03) becomes the 18 & under National Champion.
Katrina Konopka (25.16) and Anya Goeders (25.28) won the B and C-finals respectively.
I appreciate Weitzeil’s honesty in this interview. I was not even an elite student-athlete and I had a very difficult transition to freshman year of college. The school turned out to be an amazing fit for me- but there are so many changes your freshman year it can be very difficult for anyone to adjust.
I like Abbey in this interview because she wasn’t trying to sugarcoat anything. She multiple times emphasized on the word “hard” and it was very believable. But it is still unclear what kind of trouble she actually is in.
The word “transition ” is widely used but it doesn’t help to understand what the core of the problem is. Don’t forget that she wasn’t a teenager but a twenty years old woman who should understand by this time what she wants and how to get it.
Sometimes I think that she was dissatisfied with her Olympic results after being deservedly American Hope #1 in sprint. And that is how the hardship began to accumulate. Has she found the… Read more »
sorry 4 her but weitzels done like franklin mclauglin & bilquist
this what happen when u do useless ocean swims & unsafe headstands
baker still have a chance to win if shes smart to leave kal asap
coach meehan will correct her swim technics using science in the otc
real training will produce great champs like all the stanford gals
can make baker a winner when she get to train with ar champ howe
Because Cal has never produced an Olympic champion or won a national title
Coach,
Learn how to spell, and get your facts right. Franklin went back to her old coach prior to the Olympics. During her time at Cal she became the only female under 1:40 in the 200 free. That screams success to me. Bilquist finished third at Olympic Trials, and Katie has A Finaled at NCAAs and OTs. Baker is doing great at Cal, obviously. Not to diminish Howe’s impressive American Record, but I’m also going to point out that Baker made the worlds team, Howe did not. Baker won NCAAs in the 100 & 200 Back and 200 IM. Howe did not.
Truth of the matter is that female swimmers peak at about 21. I’m not saying that Abby is washed up, she may well recover from this year but the “peak age” is well documented. At this age most of these girls are not mentally developed sufficiently to be prepared for the inevitable decline. There are a few truly elite and genetically gifted athletes that are able to continue into their mid 20’s and beyond but they are few and far between in the swimming world. While the physical demands of swimming are exceptional, the mental pressure of these competitions is overwhelming. The incredible amount of effort that they put in to prepare and then in most cases “lose” or not… Read more »
There is a huge variation on this… nothing remotely inevitable or even likely about peaking/starting to decline at 21. I think sometimes it seems that way because women mature and peak younger, and so are more likely to burn out early, but that just calls for smart career management.
Dara Torres? Therese Alshammer? Others?
I hope she can at least make semis. I remember in Kazan Ivy Martin only swam the 50 free and ended up getting like 27th. Would hate to see that happen to Abbey
Because it’s embarrassing to not make finals?
Good thing Ivy still fly AF tho
I think we sometimes forget how hard it is to be a top level student athlete
truth
We? You mean Bobo?
there were quite a few people talking trash about Weitzeil during the college season
Yes! I was scared to not be mentioned anymore…. I love when some people tak for me.
Sure I don’t know what it means to be a student athlete. Yes. I think they are machines without a life outside of water. Of course! 😆 Sure it’s the first time we see an athlete coming from high school with great performances struggling in the freshman year in college. And in the case of Abbey Weitzeil that’s the post-olympic year. There was a risk to see her leave her coach while it worked very well. She could have gone pro. But it’s not the usual way in US swimming. She wanted to swim in college. She knew the transition would be… Read more »
I don’t like when people say “sorry” when they actually aren’t.
I always enjoy bobo’s swimming insights. But I think my favorite part of his comments are when he acknowledges how dumb trump is.
I think Mr.Gigi won’t mind provide you with personal contact information so you can entertain each other talking about trump, republicans, American stupidity and other fascinating stuff 24/7. The only problem would be time zone difference but don’t worry, his state of mind (that he is sorry for) is so strong that you will learn soon how to read his dreams telepathically.
A lot of people had high hopes for her pre and post Olympics. Add in the expectations of Cal vs Stanford competition featuring Manuel and Weitzeil. This was most people, not just Bobo. I think we get spoiled by those who have smooth transitions, that we forget it could go either way even for non student-athletes. Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a positive turn for her.
Cal women had a rough meet. Abbey’s 24.7 is a full half second behind Simone and significantly off her time from last trials. Sjostrom, Blume, and Ranomi are poised to take the 50 at Worlds with Simone being a potential finalist contending for bronze.
Just the women? Remember these athletes are on a 4 year road to Tokyo.
It would be surprising if Manuel isn’t faster at WCs than at this meet. She dropped a good chunk of time between OTs and Rio, and she knew she had some margin for error in making team this year. Blume only beat her by .02 in Rio, so I’d expect a pretty good fight for silver. And even though Sjostrom looks unstoppable, we know this race is never a foregone conclusion, especially after a lot of racing.